New Fee Schedule For Medicare Helps Office Docs

Physicians providing most services in an office setting will benefit from the Health Care Financing Administration's fee schedule for next year. Office-based physicians will receive slightly higher fees, up to a 1-percent increase, while most hospital-based doctors will see fee reductions of up to 1 percent. The changes are based on actual practice expenses; in past years, HCFA was criticized for basing its fee schedule on physicians' historical charges.

Because of adjustments related to malpractice-insurance costs, nephrology and emergency medicine, hospital-based specialties, will receive increases larger than 1 percent.

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